Badge of Honour
by Nirianne
Summary: What does one consider to be a 'Badge of Honour? For the things you fought and believed in only to have reminders all you've done was in vain? How many things have you sacrificed in order to maintain peace in a scorching wasteland? One-shot! R&R!


**A/N:** Here is a small side story from _When the World Ended._

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything.

**Summary: **What does one consider to be a 'Badge of Honour'? For the things you fought and believed in only to have reminders all you've done was in vain? How many things have you sacrificed in order to maintain peace in a scorching wasteland?

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><p><strong>Badge of Honour<strong>

Everything came to a distinct pause. The sound of exploding buildings silenced. Falling debris rolled across the battered landscape mixed with oil and blood. NEST soldiers were in awe but nobody was in shock more than Sam Witwicky. He walked slowly, cautiously around sharp edges avoiding them like they were about to detonate any second at the slightest touch. Carefully manoeuvring around a charred boulder, Sam reached a contorted, metallic frame of...

"Optimus..."

It was difficult to utter that one word. Optimus. Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots was terminated. In human terms? He was killed in battle; his life was taken by Lord Megatron, stabbing Optimus from behind drilling through his Spark Core before delivering the final shot to the back of the head. Silence reigned over the humans and the rest of the Autobots. Ratchet was extremely quiet gazing upon Prime's body. His best friend was forever gone. The medic momentarily dug into his memory banks remembering when a NEST personnel informed him of Ironhide's death; the courageous warrior was executed in the hands of Sentinel Prime. Sentinel Prime, an Autobot, one of their own! Digging deeper into his data files, Ratchet reflected on another good friend which past: Jazz. Was this it? The old medic gazed around to the rest of the Autobots grimly. Being mechanical did not mean one did not share human emotions. They did. The bottom line was this: regardless of being a mechanical machine or cloaked in human flesh, it was evident both shared compassion, sympathy and a spectrum of emotions. Remorse was one the Autobots knew and understood extremely well.

How many of his friends died during the war? Countless. How many times did Ratchet watch innocent blue optics fade into black as bodies rusted before his very optics? Countless. How many times did he witness life taken from his hands when he tried his best to save them in hopes of living another day? Countless. And now all the things they fought for was... in vain, as much as it pained Ratchet to admit it. The All Spark was forever lost, the Great Matrix of Leadership was destroyed and Optimus Prime was dead. Gazing down at Sam, he couldn't possibly imagine what he was going through.

Sam placed a bloodied hand on Optimus' leg. He wished by a miracle, Optimus' blue eyes would once again ignite in their sockets giving them hope. Not even a single tear slipped down Sam's face. Optimus, Sam mouthed silently. Sam felt a pair of hands slipping under his arms, wrapping around his torso. A face was pressed against his back uttering how they were sorry for his lost. Lost. Being sorry was not the solution. Being sorry would _not_ bring back the great Optimus Prime and... his friend.

The sun emerged from behind grey cloud cover. Its rays pierced through black smoke, shining brightly upon Optimus' body. If there was a Transformer afterlife, may it hear Sam's wishes: bring back his friend! Bring back what was once theirs... Bring back the protector of hope. Bring back the protector of freedom.

_Freedom is the right of all sentient beings._

"Bring him back..." Sam muttered, falling onto his knees.

Bumblebee gazed at Sam and inevitably, at Optimus. There was much Bumblebee needed to learn from Optimus... So much. Tuning into radio stations, Bumblebee expressed his sadness through voices of crying women, screaming about their lost loved one. Bumblebee knew; no matter how many times he thought about changing the past, he knew it was impossible. This was life. Life was cruel. They young bot approached his fallen leader and sat next to Sam. Optimus bared many scars during his life. Bumblebee reached out tracing a deep scar on his leg. All these scars, Bumblebee thought were evidence of Optimus' determination as he fought for his beliefs. They were his badges of honour.

"Today, we lost a great soldier," Captain Lennox announced, clearing his throat. It was hard for him to form the appropriate words for the situation. Captain Lennox looked at his friend, Ebbs before turning to Sam and the others. "Words cannot describe what all of us feel. Let us give Optimus, the protector of peace a moment of silence."

One by one, everybody approached Optimus forming a circle around him. With hands in front, their heads were bowed in respect. Tears, mixed with sweat fell one by one onto burning pavements. The sun allowed the mourners 'hope'. Now shining brilliantly on Optimus' body, the fallen veteran shined. It appeared as if his body was about to be transported into a place where peace reigned without prejudice. Humans opened their eyes and Autobots' blue turned back on the moment the wind picked up. Red and brown grains of dust blew, whisking past Sam and Carly. Tightly holding each other's hands, the two watched as the dust gracefully dancing, twisting and turning until it was no more. It was time.

Rust spilled across his body, slithering into crack and crevasses. Pieces of solid metal were nothing more than free floating grains ascending to the sky. Optimus' arm which lay to the side now turned into a pile of red and brown dust. Within moments, Optimus' body was no more. Following the dancing grains, optics grazed over several barrels of heated plasma cannons and rifles. It was that moment in time they realized they were surrounded by Decepticons. Ruby eyes flashed through the veil of smoke, baring their grotesque contorted forms. Soundwave released a shot at the group of military soldiers. Even before Sam blinked, they were vaporized. The Autobots immediately launched themselves in front of the humans forming a thick barricade between them and the Deceptions which outnumbered them two to one.

"Go," Ratchet instructed holding his rifle high.

Sam looked at Ratchet, Bumblebee, Sideswipe and the Wreckers. "**You can't do this!**" Sam screamed. "**You'll be killed! You have to—**"

"**GO!**"

Captain Lennox reluctantly snatched Sam and Carly's arms forcing them to follow him. Sam screamed, swore at Captain Lennox but his words meant nothing. Running across the cracked earth, Sam and Carly watched the Autobots bare new scars, still fighting to protect them, still fighting to protect their home from tyranny. The Autobots continued to fight in the name of their fallen leader, Optimus Prime who they now shared deep scars as their badges of honour.


End file.
